Hithertofore, in conventional presser foot lifters in sewing machines of the type referred to hereinabove, as shown in FIG. 1, the presser foot 3 is held against the throat plate 2 by means of the presser bar spring 1 comprising a compression spring and is lifted to a predetermined height against the force of the presser bar spring when the solenoid 4 is excited. That is, in the lifter of FIG. 1, when the knee-operated switch 6 embedded in the knee abutment member 5 is switched on by the operator's knee, the solenoid 4 is excited to rotate the knee-operated lifting lever 7 in the counterclockwise or arrowed direction which in turn lifts the presser rod 9 which is slidable within the oil sump 8. As the lifter rod 9 is lifted, the bar 10 is lifted to rotate the lever 11 in the clockwise or arrowed direction which in turn moves the connector rod 12 rightwards or in the arrowed direction to rotate the lever 13 in the clockwise direction. As the lever 13 rotates in the clockwise direction, the lever abuts against and upwardly pushes the stop rod 15 secured to the presser bar 14 having the presser foot 3 secured to the lower end thereof. Thus, as the stop rod 15 is pushed upwardly, the presser bar 14 is lifted against the force of the presser bar spring 1 whereby the presser foot 3 is lifted away from the throat plate 2.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional presser foot lifter, since the presser foot is designed to be lifted by the excitation of the solenoid, although the operator can lift the presser foot with a small force, the conventional presser foot lifter has the disadvantage that the presser foot 3 is allowed to move between only two positions, that is, the lowermost position in which the presser foot 3 contacts the throat plate 2 and the uppermost position far above the throat plate, and cannot be lifted to a position above the throat plate by a small distance or a position convenient for the operator to operate the lifter.